They were. The same people ethnically, in the same location, speaking roughly same languagele, and the today's state claims this legacy (and even a plenty of troops get their Viking tattoos and worship Odin).
Which is unlike Königsberg, where the Prussian Germanized population entirely replaced by the Russians (Soviets) who have never been there before 1945.
Whether this is true or not, I really don't see Ukraine existing as a fully sovereign country anymore
Maybe in name only as a puppet state but the only question is who's pulling the strings.
Sorry, but it never was, Ukraine has been a puppet state it’s entire history and a money launderer for powerful countries.
The Rus before the Mongols and the Lithuanian domination, really? Whose?
The Rus were not Ukrainian, any more than the original Prussians were Germanic peoples.
They were. The same people ethnically, in the same location, speaking roughly same languagele, and the today's state claims this legacy (and even a plenty of troops get their Viking tattoos and worship Odin).
Which is unlike Königsberg, where the Prussian Germanized population entirely replaced by the Russians (Soviets) who have never been there before 1945.